Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Yakety Yak, Don't Talk Back -- or Lose a Testicle in Albuquerque

For the first time Monday we're learning exactly what happened before a
UNM law student's testicle was shattered, allegedly by an APD officer.

KOB Eyewitness News 4 requested lapel video from APD officer Pablo Padilla, but the station's request has not been fulfilled.

APD did turn over the officer's lapel video to political action group
Progress Now New Mexico, and KOB has obtained the organization's copy.

On April 24, University of New Mexico law student Jeremy Martin was
pulled over for running a stop sign on Campus and Wellesley near the
north side of the UNM campus.
The video shows Martin being pulled over, and being asked out of the
car. Padilla asks Martin to sit down on the curb, which he does.

At one point, Martin stands up and walks into the road.

And the video shows what happened then.

Yet another case of police misuse of force. While the injury to Mr. Martin was severe enough for him to lose a testicle, many others have reported similar abuse when stopped on suspicion of drunk driving, or just... because. No reason at all.

It's all of a piece, the rampant abuse and murder by police, and not just in the Duke City; it's endemic throughout the USofA, and obviously such abuse is no longer as confined to targeted groups as it once was.